中国东部地区发生两起涉及数以十万计民众的饮用水污染事件之后，当地的学校关闭，商店的瓶装水被抢购一空。第一起事件发生在星期六晚间，一起交通事故导致 21吨的苯酚流入新安江。新安江是浙江省省会杭州等城市的主要饮用水源。当局暂时关闭了向50多万人提供水源的5个水厂，并从附近的水坝释放额外的水来稀释该化学品。苯酚如果被摄入体内，可能会损坏人体的内脏。
在另一起事件中，有关官员发现，给杭州地区和浙江省其他地区提供饮用水的苕溪河中含有苯和其他9种化学元素。污染源追溯到一个工业园区。该园区的工厂被下令停止排放化学物质。当局说，这些化学物质的浓度还没有高到危及人体健康的程度，但杭州余杭区的居民们抱怨水里有怪味。两个社区的学校自星期二起关闭3 天。如果人体摄入苯，会导致呕吐，头晕和抽搐现象。
Schools are closed and stores have been stripped of bottled water in eastern China after a pair of incidents contaminated drinking water used by hundreds of thousands of people. In the first incident, a traffic accident late Saturday caused 21 tons of carbolic acid to spill into the Xin’an River, the main source of drinking water for cities including Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. Authorities temporarily shut down five water plants serving more than 500,000 people and released extra water from nearby dams to dilute the chemical. Carbolic acid can damage internal organs if ingested.
Separately, officials discovered benzene and nine other chemicals in the Shaozi River, which also provides drinking water for Hangzhou and other parts of Zhejiang. The pollution was traced to an industrial park, and factories in the park were ordered to stop discharging the chemical.Authorities said the chemicals were not highly enough concentrated to endanger health, but residents complained of a bad taste, and schools in two communities were closed for three days beginning Tuesday. Ingesting benzene can cause vomiting, dizziness and convulsions.